William P. Haines

Ancient diversification of Hyposmocoma moths in Hawaii

Island biogeography is fundamental to understanding colonization, speciation and extinction. Remote volcanic archipelagoes represent ideal natural laboratories to study biogeography because they offer a discrete temporal and spatial context for colonization and speciation. The moth genus Hyposmocoma is one of very few lineages that diversified across the entire Hawaiian Archipelago, giving rise to over 400 species, including many restricted to the remote northwestern atolls and pinnacles, remnants of extinct volcanoes. Here, we report that Hyposmocoma is ~15 million years old, in contrast with previous studies of the Hawaiian biota, which have suggested that most lineages colonized the archipelago after the emergence of the current high islands (~5 Myr ago). We show that Hyposmocoma has dispersed from the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands to the current high islands more than 20 times. The ecological requirements of extant groups of Hyposmocoma provide insights into vanished ecosystems on islands that have long since eroded.

Arthropod Surveys on Palmyra Atoll, Line Islands, and Insights into the Decline of the Native Tree Pisonia grandis (Nyctaginaceae)

ABSTRACT Palmyra Atoll, in the Line Islands of the equatorial Pacific, supports one of the largest remaining native stands of Pisonia grandis forest in the tropical Pacific Ocean. In 2003, we surveyed terrestrial arthropods to document extant native and introduced species richness, compare these lists with historical records, and assess potential threats to native species and ecosystem integrity. In total, 115 arthropod taxa were collected, bringing the total number of taxa recorded since 1913 to 162. Few native species were collected; most taxa were accidental introductions also recorded from the Hawaiian Islands, the presumed main source of introductions to Palmyra. The overlap with previous historical surveys in 1913 and 1948 was low (<40%), and new species continue to establish, with one species of whitefly reaching pest status between 2003 and 2005. We observed numerous dead or dying large Pisonia grandis, and the green scale Pulvinaria urbicola (Coccidae) was particularly abundant on trees of poor health. Abundant introduced ants, particularly Pheidole megacephala, tended this and other hemipterans feeding on both native and introduced plants. We hypothesize that the Pheidole-Pulvinaria facultative mutualism is causing the decline of Pisonia grandis. Because of the unique properties of Pisonia grandis forest on oceanic atolls, its importance for nesting seabirds, and its alarming global decline, immediate conservation efforts should be directed at controlling introduced Hemiptera and disrupting their mutualisms with nonnative ants on Palmyra Atoll.

Molecular phylogenetics of the moth genus Omiodes Guenée (Crambidae: Spilomelinae), and the origins of the Hawaiian lineage.

The moth genus Omiodes (Crambidae) comprises about 80 species and has a circumtropical distribution, with the type species, O. humeralis, occurring in Central America. In Hawaii, there are 23 native species currently placed in Omiodes, but this classification has been disputed, and they were previously placed in various other genera. We used molecular phylogenetic analyses to assess the monophyly of Omiodes as a whole, and specifically of the Hawaiian species, as well as their geographic origins and possible ancestral host plants. Mitochondrial (COI) and nuclear (wingless, EF1α, CAD, and RPS5) DNA was sequenced for Omiodes from Hawaii, South America, and Australasia, along with many other putative outgroup spilomeline genera. Phylogenies were estimated using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference, and various taxon and character datasets. With the exception of two paleotropical species (O. basalticalis and O. odontosticta, whose placement was unresolved) all Hawaiian, paleotropical and neotropical Omiodes, including the type species, fell within a well-supported, monophyletic clade. Although the center of diversity for Omiodes is in the Neotropics, its center of origin was ambiguous, due to poor resolution of the basal splits between paleotropical and neotropical Omiodes. Very low genetic divergence within the Hawaiian Omiodes suggests a relatively recent colonization of the Hawaiian Islands. Phylogenies constructed using all codon positions were poorly resolved at intergeneric levels, and did not reveal a sister taxon for Omiodes, but phylogenies constructed using only first and second codon positions suggested a close relationship with Cnaphalocrocis. The monophyly of several other spilomeline genera is also discussed.

A Recent Outbreak of the Hawaiian Koa Moth, Scotorythra paludicola (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), and a Review of Outbreaks between 1892 and 2003

Abstract: The koa moth, Scotorythra paludicola, is an endemic Hawaiian moth that undergoes sporadic outbreaks in koa forests in Hawai‘i, causing vast defoliations of its host plant, Acacia koa. We studied one such outbreak that occurred on East Maui in 2003, in which approximately 16 km2 of forest were defoliated. We collected adult moths and larvae, and recorded size-class distribution of larvae in defoliated regions. Larvae at a given site tended to be of a similar size class, suggesting that outbreaks were synchronous, and mean development time from first instar to adulthood was 42 days under laboratory conditions. Mortality of field-collected, laboratory-reared larvae due to disease was high (80%), making it impossible to quantify meaningful parasitism rates, but three nonnative hymenopteran primary parasitoids were reared (the braconids Meteorus laphygmae and Cotesia marginiventris, and the ichneumonid Hyposoter exiguae). One ichneumonid hyperparasitoid, Gelis sp., was also reared. No native parasitoids were reared. We found no relationship between occurrence of five koa moth outbreaks on East Maui between 1920 and 2006 and annual or monthly precipitation or temperature during that period.

Modeling the Habitat Retreat of the Rediscovered Endemic Hawaiian Moth Omiodes continuatalis Wallengren (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

Survey data over the last 100 years indicate that populations of the endemic Hawaiian leafroller moth, Omiodes continuatalis (Wallengren) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), have declined, and the species is extirpated from large portions of its original range. Declines have been attributed largely to the invasion of non-native parasitoid species into Hawaiian ecosystems. To quantify changes in O. continuatalis distribution, we applied the maximum entropy modeling approach using Maxent. The model referenced historical (1892–1967) and current (2004–2008) survey data, to create predictive habitat suitability maps which illustrate the probability of occurrence of O. continuatalis based on historical data as contrasted with recent survey results. Probability of occurrence is predicted based on the association of biotic (vegetation) and abiotic (proxy of precipitation, proxy of temperature, elevation) environmental factors with 141 recent and historic survey locations, 38 of which O. continuatalis were collected from. Models built from the historical and recent surveys suggest habitat suitable for O. continuatalis has changed significantly over time, decreasing both in quantity and quality. We reference these data to examine the potential effects of non-native parasitoids as a factor in changing habitat suitability and range contraction for O. continuatalis. Synthesis and applications: Our results suggest that the range of O. continuatalis, an endemic Hawaiian species of conservation concern, has shrunk as its environment has degraded. Although few range shifts have been previously demonstrated in insects, such contractions caused by pressure from introduced species may be important factors in insect extinctions.

A New Record of the Fruit Piercing Moth Oraesia excavata (Butler) (Erebidae: Calpinae: Calpini) for Hawaii and the United States

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